


Prelude to Forever

by AlwaysAqua



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Banter, Chicago (City), F/F, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Heavy on the Fluff, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, No Smut, One Shot, Other, Pride, Strangers to Lovers, light on the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 19:48:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15493371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysAqua/pseuds/AlwaysAqua
Summary: @StylinHarry: So I kinda fell for a boy yesterday at #ChiPride. Kissed & fireworks went off. Literally. He’s a drama teacher. Goes by “Louis” but I prefer Sunshine. Very pretty. The prettiest. Got separated & I’m a fucking idiot who forgot to get his number. Anyone know him? #helpfindsunshineOr, Louis and Harry meet at Pride in Chicago and spend the day falling for each other before getting accidentally separated._____This is part of a Wordplay prompt challenge that a group of us are participating in for the prompt "polish".  To read the amazing fics that were written by the others on this prompt,click here, and to see all fics written as part of the challenge,click hereor find the masterpost for this year’s challengehere.





	Prelude to Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I just want to say a few things about this before you read it, so here goes.
> 
> Firstly, there is some homophobic language, but I tried my absolute best to keep it minimal. It is not important to the story, though it is very important to the characters and how they come out of the situation. 
> 
> Secondly, this is very vaguely based off my first time at Pride, though mine was in NYC and not Chicago. I took liberties with the festival as I saw fit, but nothing is out of the realm of Pride.
> 
> This is also based off a twitter exchange I saw where two guys kissed at Pride, but lost each other without exchanging numbers and thanks to the power of social media, they re-connected! Yay for Pride love!
> 
> Thirdly, I never mention a name (and I won't now because he doesn't even deserve a name), but I think we all know who Bride of Frankenstein reminds us of...So, proceed with caution if that bothers you. His character is the catalyst for the whole fic, but he's really very insignificant after the beginning.
> 
> As always, a massive, massive thank you to my @Here Cuties, Have Nacho group. You ladies are the absolute best and I am thankful for your friendship and support.
> 
> Last but not least, a special shout out to [Della](https://iamasphodelknox.tumblr.com/) for being just the kindest Beta in the world. She lets me complain endlessly and cheers me on anyway. My thanks and praise will never live up to the gratitude I feel.

Louis sighed loudly, entering the train. He had been getting some strange looks on his short walk to the L train from his apartment, with his hair temporarily dyed magenta, so he was used to the side eyes. The strange looks also probably came from the fact that he was clad mostly from head to toe in nothing but rainbow.

But this creep, this absolute fucking creep. There was just something so off-putting about the way the older gentleman - who had too much plastic surgery done to his face - was looking at him. Plainly and simply, it creeped Louis out, and, if Louis was genuinely creeped out, that’s saying something. It said a lot, actually, considering on occasion he visited clubs where the standard practice is basically silence and fucking. Louis made it his standard practice to live by the motto of: Don’t ask, don’t tell, but for god’s sake make me come at least twice before last call.

But this man. This fucking creep. He kept inching closer to Louis as he settled himself against a grab bar. Louis tried to angle himself so that the back of his shoulder was the closest thing to the creep. He pulled out his phone and popped an earbud into the ear closest to the stranger and pressed play, hoping some Kendrick Lamar would help distract him from the Bride of Frankenstein, now practically on top of him. 

Louis couldn’t be certain, but he was pretty sure this guy’s pecs were implants and either he accidentally spilled something on just his chest, or his implants were leaking.

“What’s that you’re listening to?” 

Louis tensed up and looked over to Bride of Frankenstein who was staring him down intently. He glanced around the train, hoping to catch the eyes of anyone in case this went south in a hurry. Call him cautious, but as an out and loud gay man, he got in the habit of checking his surroundings, just in case. 

He hated that this was still part of the world he lived in, but not everyone was as supportive and accepting of him as his friends and family. Unfortunately, everyone seemed busy in their conversations, phones, books, or in one case, their clearly too-large-to-be-in-a-bag-but-was-in-one-anyway dog.

“Oh, uhm,” he swallowed thickly. This guy made his skin crawl. “Kendrick. Lamar? It’s rap music.”

Bride of Frankenstein’s face squinted the best it could for someone pumped up to the max with botox and fillers. “I didn’t take you to be a rap fan.”

“And yet, here I am. A fan of rap,” Louis deadpanned. He hoped his flat tone would indicate enough that he wanted to be left alone entirely.

It didn’t.

“Going to Pride, then?” Bride of Frankenstein kept on, either not getting or not caring enough about the social cues Louis was throwing down. Louis suspected it was the later.

“What gave it away? My rainbow socks or the giant rainbow PRIDE written across my shirt?” Louis didn’t like being hostile, but this felt like a scene directly out of Self Defense for Gays 101. Louis knew the next train stop wasn’t too far away. He figured he’d just get off there, and away from Bride of Frankenstein’s leaky pecs, and wait for the next train so he could continue downtown where he was meeting his mates for Pride.

“Now what’s a pretty boy like you doing heading there all by yourself?” Bride of Frankenstein reached out to put his hand on the grab bar Louis was using. “Looking to pull? You don’t have to go all the way down there if you just want a good fuck.”

Louis turned fully towards the man, mouth agape, ready to go off just as the doors of the train opened. In a rush of people on and off the train, he missed his chance to hop out and wait for the next train. It looked like he was going to be stuck with this pervy asshole for a bit more. At least this provided him time to lay into this jerk.

“The fuck did you just say to me?”

“I said, a pretty boy like you doesn’t need to whore himself out to get a good lay. Oh, come on now, darling, if you’re going to keep your mouth open, I have a better idea of what to do with it.”

The fucking nerve. Louis was practically rage-blind and ready to start swinging when he felt a pair of arms come up from behind and wrap him in a hug. Louis’s heart thumped wildly. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind within a millisecond as he struggled to free himself. This was it. All he wanted to do was go to Pride and instead he was getting jumped. They must be a team, Bride of Frankenstein and the man whose arms wouldn’t let him go. The leaky pecs must be a distraction because Louis usually never turned his back to the open when he was alone on public transit. 

“There you are, babe!” Mystery Hugger said in a slow and deep voice. “I’ve been looking for you on like six different cars.”

Louis watched the Bride of Frankenstein’s eyes attempt to raise, despite the botox. He then felt the arms around him go soft and released him. Louis whipped his head, “What are you-” he began but stopped short when he saw Mystery Hugger’s face. Standing in front of him was perhaps the most beautiful man Louis had ever laid eyes on. He willed himself to stay focused. Of course the other guy would be pretty. It was like bad cop/good cop except it was more like crusty asshole/earth angel.

“I thought you said you’d be by the front of the train. Silly me,” Mystery Hugger kept on. “I must have misheard you, but it doesn’t matter now. I found you.”

Louis took him in. He stood slightly taller and broader than Louis could ever hope to be. His shortish chestnut curls were pushed back with the help of a rainbow headscarf. Glitter adorned his face in a giant curve around his eyes; his very pretty, very green eyes. He was wearing a rainbow pastel tie-dye t-shirt with a unicorn screen printed onto it, paired with the most ridiculous pair of tiny yellow shorts that looked more like swim trunks to Louis. Just as there was something about Bride of Frankenstein that Louis instantly knew was bad news, there was something in Mystery Hugger that Louis intrinsically trusted. It’s like he felt  _ safe, safe, safe _ thrumming through him while taking the man all in.

“Oh,” Louis smiled faintly. He decided Mystery Hugger was of no threat to him and figured out this was an intervention of sorts to help Louis away from Bride of Frankenstein. “Yeah, sorry. It was crowded up there so I just got on where there was room. But you’re right. You found me.”

Mystery Hugger smiled brilliantly at him. Louis was so thankful for the solidarity that he grabbed for Mystery Hugger’s hand. He turned back to Bride of Frankenstein and asked, “Now, what were you saying?”

Mystery Hugger’s mouth snarled a bit. “Yeah, what exactly were you saying to my partner?”

Bride of Frankenstein’s mouth went slack watching Louis and Mystery Hugger. “I, uh,” he stuttered. “Nothing. Just...nothing.” 

“That’s what I thought,” Mystery Hugger protectively wrapped his free arm around Louis. Louis wanted nothing more than to melt into the embrace, but stopped himself. Just as quickly, he remembered this was all for show and figured if all he got were these few minutes of fake dating Mystery Hugger, he might as well take advantage. Louis quirked his eyebrow in a manner that sent off “fuck you” vibes and leaned back as far as he could into the man. 

The Bride of Frankenstein turned away and pushed through the crowd and finally Louis felt like he could breathe again.

Turning out from Mystery Hugger’s arm once more, he smiled up at the man. How could he ever thank his own personal Gay Jesus?

“You all right?” Mystery Hugger/Gay Jesus asked him, voice low and eyes furrowed. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No, not at all. How did-” 

“I was sitting on the far side of the car. I saw you get on and him follow but then got lost in my music. Kendrick has a way of doing that to me. Anyway, next time I looked up, he was practically laying on top of you and I had a feeling you might need some help.”

“As much as I’d like to say I had it under control, I... well, clearly I didn’t. Thank you,” Louis paused, waiting for Mystery Hugger/Gay Jesus to fill in the blank and supply him a name. 

“Harry,” he supplemented, as if able to read Louis’s mind.

“Harry. Right. Thank you, Harry. I think I was probably ready to go to jail over that fucking creep.”

“I’d have bailed you out.”

“You kind of already did,” Louis said softly as if he didn’t really want to admit it. The two smiled and Louis felt a squeeze to his hand. He had forgotten entirely about still being clasped to Harry’s hand. It felt so right to be holding it that now, having let go, felt strange. He cleared his throat. “You, uh, you headed to Pride?”

“Not at all, actually. This is my everyday wear.”

Louis’s eyes went wide in shock and a wave of embarrassment swept over him before Harry cracked a smile that soon turned into a full on honk of laughter. Now it was Harry’s turn for his eyes to go wide. Louis couldn’t help but laugh in return. It was infectious between them. 

“No, no, yeah,” Harry tried to get out through his fit of giggles. “Yeah I’m going to Pride. I work in advertising. There’s no way in hell I could pull this look off everyday.”

“You’re right,” Louis started, looking down at Harry’s feet, clad in a kitten heel strappy sandal. “You probably have much more sensible footwear for work,” Louis could hardly make it through the sentence without bursting into laughter again. They went on this way, quip after quip, banter easy between them.

The train slowed down to the main stop for access to the Pride grounds. Louis wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his personal Gay Jesus quite yet. They got off the train side by side and Louis reached for Harry’s arm to spin him around.

“Any chance you want to walk up together? My mates are somewhere up there but I’m not exactly sure of their whereabouts. I could always use the company for a bit.”

Harry scrunched his nose as if to hide a smile. “You know, that would be brilliant. I’m, uh,” he took a deep breath. “I’m new to this whole Pride thing. Just came out to my family a year ago. I only decided for sure this morning to come down here.”

“So you’re going by yourself?” Louis asked, astounded. Gay Jesus was actually a Baby Gay! A literal walking rainbow, in kitten heels no less, Baby Gay. “No friends wanted to join, even as allies?”

“I don’t have too many friends that actually know this side of me. Most of my friends are colleagues and I’m not quite out at my company yet. So I guess I don’t have too many friends in the community. I’m kind of alone.”

“Not anymore, you’re not. Come on,” Louis once again grabbed Harry by the hand and lead him toward the stairs. “I just decided. You’re hanging with me and my friends today.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Harold, have you learned nothing from my little incident not even ten minutes ago? Us gays have got to stick together,” Louis knew he was laying it on thick. Gay Jesus or not, Harry deserved to have a banger time at his first Pride and if there was one thing Louis and his mates were known for, it was making a party wherever they went. 

“I already said I’d walk up there with you. But you don’t need to feel obligated to drag me around all day. I’m not a stray puppy or anything.”

“Contrary to me leading the way up the stairs, I don’t plan on dragging you anywhere. I’d never force you against your will. Consent is sexy, haven’t you heard?” Louis asked, holding up a temporary tattoo on his forearm that displayed that very message. “I just want to give you a proper thanks for saving my ass back there and show you a good time. If nothing else, come meet my tribe and if, at any point, you want to leave, you’re absolutely more than welcome to.”

Louis watched Harry think about it. He could see wheels spinning and wanted nothing more than to reach out and caress his cheek to help quiet Harry’s mind. Instead he just plastered on a huge smile as a last ditch effort. 

“Oh all right. You’ve convinced me,” Harry’s eyes sparked almost as much as the glitter surrounding them. “But wait. I...I don’t even know your name. How do I know your damsel in distress act wasn’t just a ploy to to get a guy like me alone so you can have your way with me?” Harry smirked. The audacity of this kid! Louis knew he was teasing, and yet, he also knew there were very real elements of fear in his rationing. 

As much as Louis loved being gay, there were a lot of reasons to be on high alert. Louis would be lying if he himself wasn’t a little bit on alert going to Pride, and he’s been coming since he came out at eighteen, five years ago. You just never know what kind of assholes are waiting to do god knows what and to whom. 

“Trust me love, if I was working with anyone, it sure as shit wouldn’t have been Bride of Frankenstein back there.”

Harry let out another honk for a laugh. 

“I suppose that’s true. Doesn’t mean I still don’t know your name. I’ve been holding your hand for like fifty-two years at this point and feel like I should refer to you as something other than Sunshine Personified in my head,” Harry smiled.

“Oh my god. Sunshine Personified? And here I thought I was being ridiculous referring to you Gay Jesus.”

“Gay Jesus? Goodness. I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but Gay Jesus takes the cake!”

Louis just laughed and batted his eyes. It’s always worked to get him out of embarrassment before and he hoped it would work now. “Louis. My name is Louis and I would formally like to thank you for getting that man away from me.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “Nice to meet you, Louis. The pleasure is all mine.”

“I don’t know about that. I’d say the pleasure is more mutual than anything. Anyway, come on, Gay Jesus. Pride awaits us.”

“All right, Sunshine. You’ve talked me into it. Lead the way.”

Apparently, neither of them felt the need to let go of each other’s hand, so they didn’t. Louis asked Harry all sorts of questions and learned that Harry had just turned 21, was actually from Milwaukee, not Chicago, but took the Amtrak down and was staying with his aunt, who happened to live close to the L train. Harry was an intern at an advertising firm, working with the music production side of things. He’s not written any official jingles yet, but there weren’t many things he didn’t make a jingle for in his head. 

“What would a jingle for me be?” Louis asked, laying it on thickly.

Harry thought for a few moments before clearing his throat and singing a jazzy tune:

__ “A boy named Sunshine  
__ Will surely make everyone pine.  
_ He claims the name’s really Louis  
_ __ But doesn’t mind the epithet...do he?”

Louis appreciated the song, even if the grammar was sub-par to make the rhyme work. He just stared and eventually giggled, “No,  _ he don’t.” _

“Well good. Because it’s in there now. You’ll always be Sunshine to me.”

“I’ve been called far worse, so I’ll take it.”

“So tell me about these friends of yours? I’m a bit nervous, if I’m completely honest.” 

Louis stopped and pointed to a ragtag group of people, congregating around a park bench. “Nothing to be nervous about at all. They’re the best people I know. How about I just introduce you instead?”

Harry nodded and they crossed the way. Suddenly all of Louis’s friends turned to greet him, though their words fell short when they noticed Louis’s hand in hand with Harry. 

“Guys, this is Gay Jesus. He is truly my Lord and Gayvior.”

“I assume that’s gay savior?”

“You assume correctly, Nialler,” Louis said, giving the fake-blonde a very real high five with his free hand.

“I’m really not Gay Jesus,” Harry piped up. “Gay, yes. Jesus? Not that I’ve noticed. The only miracle I’ve ever done with wine was turn full bottles into empty ones at a magnificent pace.”

Louis’s friends all laughed and Louis let out a sigh of relief. Just as he had predicted, Harry was going to fit in just fine with all of them. 

“Well Gay Jesus, it’s nice to meet you,” Niall held a hand out for Harry to take. “I’m Pansexual Niall.”

“And I’m Bisexual Liam.”

One by one, Louis’s friends identified themselves to Harry. 

“Gay Zayn,” came with a small but friendly wave. 

"Lesbian Jade.” 

“Mostly Lesbian Jesy.”

“Undefined Shawn.”

Harry shook all of their hands, aside from the girls who gave him big hugs. 

“A big Queer hello to all of you,” Harry said, taking a step back and waving to the group. “Feel free to keep calling me Jesus if you’d like, but the name’s Harry.”

None of them asked, knowing Louis enough to know he would share in his own time and own way how he came to show up, hand in hand, with a man he was calling Gay Jesus. Instead, the group filled him in on the lay of the festival grounds.

“Want to walk around to some of the vendor booths? I could also eat. I’m so hungry,” Niall spoke up. 

“Aww, muffin,” Shawn snuggled Niall under his arm. “You’re always hungry. We just had brunch like an hour ago.”

Everyone laughed. Harry leaned over to whisper “Are they together?” to Louis. 

“They say no, but we’ve all got bets placed on when they finally tell us the truth.”

Both Shawn and Niall rolled their eyes, but gave each other a private-ish telling look while turning to lead the way toward the row of endless booths and food trucks. 

“We are, though,” Liam held up Zayn’s hand with a smile on his face. “Together, I mean. Almost seven years.” They, too, began walking towards Niall and Shawn.

“We...are complicated,” Jade announced, taking Jessi’s hand. “But for today’s, and probably tonight’s purposes, we’re together.” The girls both smirked and went in for a full on make out session. 

Louis knew all about their open-but-not-at-all-open relationship. He’s spent far too many nights consoling each of them over many pints of ice cream. The problem with them, as Louis saw it, was that they both were too afraid to commit but too afraid to lose each other, also. “Complicated” was putting it mildly. They broke up their kiss and also headed off in the direction of the booths, following the boys. 

Louis looked up at Harry who was doing that smile-hiding nose scrunch again. Louis thought that was perhaps the cutest thing he’d ever seen anyone do.

“Well, that’s my tribe. What do you think?”

"I like that word. ‘Tribe.’ I think I’d like to stick around you lot a bit more, if you’ll have me.”

“Told you, you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you’d like.”

“So what about you, then?” Harry asked. 

“What what about me?”

“I feel like we skipped some of the basics,” Harry pointed out. “I know more about your friends than you at this point, and yet we’re the ones still holding hands.”

“Ah, well,” Louis dropped Harry’s hand and turned to face him directly. “I’m Gay Louis. Like, very Gay Louis. Very, unflinchingly, utterly, hopelessly gay Louis. Not in a relationship, aside from my love affair with Yorkshire tea.” 

“Nice to meet you Very Gay Louis...for like the fourth time today. I’m probably on my way to Very Gay but am still just regular Gay Harry. Also single. Painstakingly so. And, sorry to say, but I’m an Earl Gray man myself.”

“Can Jesus be blasphemous? Because if so, you are. Earl Gray? Come off it, man!” Louis thought his cheeks were going to fall off from all the Harry-induced smiling. “Come on, Jesus. Let’s show you what Pride is all about. 

They eventually caught up with the group after spinning prize wheels and picking up free sunscreen and lip balm and whistles and stickers and press-on tattoos and just about every variation of rainbow swag imaginable, all while watching some very fit boys in very tight fitting speedos dance in the streets - with or without actual music. They each had pockets-full of free condoms and just as many packets of lube. Harry was akin to a kid in a candy store, eyes perpetually wide and seemingly yearning to experience everything.

Louis found being around him absolutely effortless. If he was honest, talking to Harry felt a bit like talking to himself. So many times throughout the day so far, Harry finished a sentence Louis started or Harry stated a thought Louis was already having but hadn’t gotten out in words yet. It was easy. Comfortable.

Nice. 

Louis wasn’t used to nice. Louis was used to quick. Dirty. Anonymous. The less he knew the better, that way he couldn’t get attached. Louis was a serial fucker. It was just easier that way. He didn’t do relationships. Never had, never will. One massive betrayal and heartbreak at seventeen will do that to a person. So will falling in love with a married man who promised for almost a year he was going to leave his wife.

Harry had tried to ask about Louis’s dating history but Louis had become a pro at dodging the heavy stuff. Today was a day for celebration and he didn’t want to bog Harry down with his negativity. Louis told him he dated around a bit but nothing had ever stuck in the way of a serious relationship. Louis knew Harry didn’t find his answers satisfactory, but silently thanked him for not pressing further. 

The truth was, Louis wanted nothing more than to begin to settle down, but no man had ever seemed worth it, because he never let himself get that far. Louis had just finished his first year of teaching full-time Drama at a middle school in the suburbs and was looking to buy a house out there since he was finally in a position where finances weren’t a worry. He knew a house deserved a family to fill it, but never wanted to risk the heartbreak that would inevitably, probably, come with it.

Despite the group all taking turns buying various fried vendor food and sharing their goodies amongst each other the entire afternoon, the general consensus was real-food dinner was necessary, and soon. They stood, debating the best course of action to achieve said wants of non-festival food.   
  
“I, uh, I googled some places this morning. For food that is close to here, in case food trucks have lost their luster,” Harry announced to the group. Louis found it endearing the way Harry was finding ways to insert himself within Louis’s friends, and not at all in a domineering way. Harry seemed genuinely interested in being a part of the group and the group took to him better than Louis could have ever hoped for.    
  
Jesy spoke up first. “I never thought I would say this, but I’m in fried food overload. Does this place have salads?”   
  
“Yeah. It’s an organic farm to table sort of thing. Or so Yelp said. Great reviews.”   
  
“Farm to table? Don’t know if they realized but we’re literally downtown Chicago. Last I checked, farms aren’t exactly abundant here,” Louis said. 

“Hey Sunshine,” Harry started enthusiastically. “I forgot to tell you about this amazing thing I just learned about!”   
“What’s that, Jesus?”   
  
“It’s this new invention called a vehicle. See, when you have something in one place,” Harry gesticulated wildly, “but want to take it to another place, you can put it in the vehicle. Then, with its wheels and it’s engine and steering, the vehicle can be manipulated to move where you want it to. Transportation, man. It’s a beautiful thing.”   
  
Louis took a moment to drink Harry in. He was a cocky little shit and Louis loved the banter they had fallen into throughout the day.    
  
“For being Jesus and all, you sure do talk some shit, you know that?”   
  
“That’s what Pontius Pilate said about Jesus, too,” Harry said with plenty of snark, touching the top of his tongue to the side of his mouth in a satisfied smirk.    
  
Liam was the first to react this time, a snort. A single snort and it set off a chain of laughter between all of them. Niall and Shawn fell to the ground in their fit and Jade gave Harry a double high five. Louis watched his friends genuinely respond in a way they never had to anyone else Louis introduced to them. Usually they placated with barely concealed annoyance. But now, the people he called “tribe” were actually enjoying Harry and Louis couldn’t help but feel a pang of both pride and sadness, simultaneously.    
  
The voice at the back of his mind kept nagging him all day that Harry wasn’t theirs to keep. Wasn’t Louis’s. He wasn’t real. Well, not real in the way Louis kept finding himself wanting. Harry was theirs, his, only for the day. So far, he had done a decent job of casting off and swallowing down the feelings of sadness. It is what it is, what it always is. Louis sure knew how to fall for unavailable men.    
  
“All right, all right. Everyone laugh it up at my expense,” Louis deflected, as he so often did. It had only been six hours but Louis would be lying if, when pressed, he said he didn’t feel a something a whole lot like fondness towards Harry already. “Let’s give your new fangled transported food a try.”   
  
Jesy grabbed for Harry’s arm and slipped her own in his. “Yes, Jesus! Lead us not into temptation but deliver us to the restaurant full of farm-fresh goodness. Do you think they have bacon?”

He heard Harry laugh as he and Jesy led the way. Watching them go, he felt mildly frozen to the spot when Zayn came up and grabbed Louis by the shoulder, bringing their heads close together, placing a gentle kiss on Louis’s temple. 

“He’s a good one, babes,” Zayn said, lips still touching temple. 

“He’s...definitely something,” Louis sighed.

“You like him.”

“I don’t. Well, I do, but I can’t so I don’t.”

Zayn just nodded, understanding the predicament he was in. “Sure you can. Milwaukee’s not that far away. Only a few hours driving and a little over an hour by train. It’s really no different than dating someone from the south side of the city.”

Logically, he knew Zayn was right. But the irrational side of Louis wanted to whine about how it was very different and it didn’t matter because Harry was only with them because otherwise he would have been alone today. He wanted to complain that crossing state lines into Wisconsin might as well be crossing an ocean into a foreign country. 

“Doesn’t matter. He’s going back tomorrow and I just...it’s better that I keep it that way.”

“You deserve to be happy, Lou. I know you’ve got this whole lone wolf thing you’ve been riding since-” Zayn paused. Louis held is breath for the name that was about to come out of his best friend’s mouth. Zayn was the one who was there to pick up the pieces that  _ he  _ left. Louis still had a hard time with saying the name of the boy who outed him at seventeen. “-high school but, that’s no way to live. You are a catch and deserve to date a nice boy like Harry.”

Louis was thankful Zayn glossed over his heartbreak. “I date!” He said, affronted. 

”Messy hook-ups aren’t dating. Fucking in dark clubs while you get lost in trance music isn’t dating. Falling for married men isn’t dating.”

“That was one time!”

“One time that lasted for a year.”

If it was anyone else calling him out like this, he would have fought harder to shut the conversation down. But he couldn’t with Zayn. He never could. That’s the thing about friends who have known you since before you could walk. They were brothers in every sense of the word, aside from the whole being related part. Zayn has always gotten a free-pass and will always get one, unless he’s wrong. Which, much as it pains Louis to admit, Zayn is never wrong. 

Louis didn’t have much to say in response, so he kept his mouth closed. They walked in silence, arm over shoulder, a few paces behind the group until they reached their destination. 

Once everyone was seated and orders taken and the rest of the group chattering away, Harry leaned over to Louis and whispered, “Hiya, Sunshine.”

“Hey yourself.”

“I just wanted to properly say thank you for inviting me to hang with you guys today. I have never really had this. I have one older sister who’s like my best friend, but I’ve never had...people.”

Louis took a deep breath and looked at the motley crew of people sitting around the table. Each of them found their way in when they didn’t really have much else, either. 

Louis had just been outed at the start of his senior year of high school by an asshole named Brad. They had spent the summer sneaking kisses behind the equipment sheds and getting handsy in the locker rooms at soccer camp. Louis was certain he was in love. It’s not like there weren’t plenty of other gay kids in their school. He was in a class of nearly eight hundred students and there was a massive Gay/Straight Alliance club and the PFLAG moms were always around the cafeteria passing out candy for various reasons. But Louis wasn’t quite ready to give up all other labels for a giant “Gay” one. People most likely suspected from a young age. His middle school yearbook tag was “Flamboyant and a bit sinister” and if that didn’t sum him up, he wasn’t sure what else would.

But, like all good things, Louis was thankful for the GSA and PFLAG Moms in the end. He didn’t know what to expect when they got to school, but it certainly wasn’t Brad to be sucking face with Amber McGinley. When Louis tried to talk to him during fourth period lunch, Brad yelled “Fuck off, Fag. Not my problem you’re so fucking gay for me!”

The whole cafeteria went quiet and Louis went numb. Before he could even react, a PFLAG Mom, who he vaguely remembered was named Karen, had come over and took Louis into her arms. He buried his face into her shoulder and through a haze, heard her tell off Brad in a way that that had the whole place  _ ooohh _ -ing and  _ ahhh _ -ing. She eventually led him out of the lunch area and down into the GSA lounge, where apparently there was always a PFLAG Mom on hand. Karen and another mom, Debbie, talked him through his emotions and helped him come to terms that he was in fact gay full stop, not gay for Brad. They invited him to attend the GSA gatherings and to bring a friend. 

When he told Zayn what had happened, Louis needed to hold him back from “smashing the twerp’s face with a lacrosse stick” and convinced him to come to a GSA meeting with him instead. Zayn had always kind of laughed off going to those, not that his sexuality was ever a secret. He just never understood why he needed to be in a special group just for being gay. But, he came, took one look a Liam and it was game over for both of them. 

So it went, the three of them against the world. Liam went to Notre Dame on a scholarship for track, but transferred to Northwestern to join Zayn and Louis before his sophomore year. 

Niall had been a fast addition to Louis and Zayn during their freshman year, however. He had plopped himself down next to Louis, first class of college and talked Louis’s ear off about some mixer he wanted to go to later on the Quad. He asked Louis to join him since he didn’t know anyone else and Louis asked if he could bring Zayn, to which Niall replied, “Bring the Queen of Sheba for all I care. I’m all about the free love so the more the merrier.” That was all it took for Louis to instantly adopt him, or to allow himself to be adopted by Niall is more like. 

Jade and Jesy didn’t join in until late junior year. Louis was working in the props room late one night on campus and heard crying in the costume department. He wandered down the hall to find the source until he found Jade, a girl he recognized from a bunch of his theater classes, crying face down into a garment still attached to the sewing machine in front of her. He cleared his throat to announce himself and when she didn’t even look up, he asked if she was ok. Instead of responding yes or no, she went off on a tirade about her roommate being oblivious to how much she was in love with her to the point of bringing another girl home that night. Within an hour, Louis knew her, and her roommate Jesy’s, entire life story. He insisted that she come back to his and Zayn’s and together they would figure something out. 

Turns out it didn’t matter because Jesy, half way through her date, realized the only person she wanted to be kissing was Jade and had left approximately eighty-seven texts and voicemails, each growing in concern as to why Jade wasn’t picking up. On the way out of the costume shop, Louis and Jade ran smack dab into a very frantic Jesy, who had coming looking for Jade. She ended up confessing everything while Louis just stood there awkwardly. The next day, Jade invited Louis out as a thanks and once Louis and the rest of the boys met the girls, they all kind of just accepted the six of them were their own weird little Friend-family, or “Framily” as their group text has been called since that night. 

As for Shawn, he was a relatively new addition. Niall had been in classes with him throughout college as they were both music majors though Shawn was in instrumental performances while Niall was in vocal performance. The group always seemed to bump into him at parties and shortly before graduation, Niall invited him to Framily Dinner Friday and he just never left. Shawn and Niall have never really discussed their closeness to the group but Louis has caught them exchanging charged glances more than once. They always somehow find a way to be touching, whether it’s feet tangled under tables or hands clasped under blankets or arms around the back of chairs which inevitably turn into arms around shoulders. And one time, though they were all way past the point of tipsy, Louis walked in on them grinding on each other, Niall’s mouth to Shawn’s neck and Shawn’s hands to Niall’s ass. Niall tried to pass it off as alcohol-induced but Louis thought it wasn’t the sexual acts that were alcohol-induced as much as it was the getting caught. Since that night, Louis knows for a fact that they now lock doors when they sneak away from the group. 

These were his people. His Framily. His tribe. Without them, Louis would be lost. 

"They are pretty great. And they like you, too,” Louis eventually smiled back at Harry. The  _ “and so do I” _ went unsaid. 

Harry reached over to squeeze Louis’s thigh and a whole spark ran through his body. This boy was electric and Louis wished he could capture some of Harry’s lightning in a bottle as a small souvenir of their day together. 

“So tell us,” Niall turned his full attention to Harry and Louis. “How exactly did you two come to be?”

Louis knew this was inevitable, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to share his stupidity with the group. 

“Well you see what had happened was,” Louis paused. It’s not that he didn’t want to tell them about Bride of Frankenstein, it was more that he was embarrassed it even needed to be an issue. He was always the one telling them to go on transit in groups if possible.

“What happened was,” Harry jumped in. “I was an obvious fish out of water after we got off the L. Sunshine here took pity on me and invited me to crash your party so I wouldn’t be alone.”

It was then that Louis knew he might definitely be in something a whole lot like...the word he swore he would never let himself feel. It wasn’t just because of his heartbreak and betrayal that made Louis never want to fall in love. It was having his dad leave him and his mom when he was only a baby. It was watching his mom fall for his step-dad - the man Louis still, despite everything, calls Dad - and have four beautiful daughters together and then just fizzle out. It was watching his mom accidentally get pregnant with yet another man who Louis had a feeling was going to hurt them all in the end, too. That’s what Love was to Louis. 

Hurt. 

He never understood the want to be partnered up until this very moment. Maybe having someone have your back and keep your failures kept safely between you was worth the possibility of eventual pain. 

“Aww, Louis took pity on a Gaby!” Niall swooned, voice as syrupy as can be. 

“Short for Gay Baby I presume?” Harry laughed. 

“Look at that. Our Gaby’s growing up!” 

Everyone laughed but Louis noticed a bit of Harry’s smile falter just a bit. Before he could ask Harry why, the waitress had made her way back with their food and Louis made a mental note to ask Harry later. Harry recovered spectacularly, though and continued on during dinner like whatever made him react never happened. 

Louis wanted nothing more than to pull Harry away and check with him to make sure he was ok. Maybe he was just being over protective as Harry himself let it go, but Louis couldn’t help but feel something very close to guilt. Instead, he made a mental note to ask Harry later and tried to enjoy the rest of dinner. 

Once the bill had been split and Louis and Harry fought for who was going to pay for who, they made their way back to Pride. 

This time Harry hung back with Louis, quietly slipping their hands together. 

“You okay, Sunshine?”

“Me?” Louis asked, surprised by Harry’s question.

“Yeah. You got quiet during dinner. Did I...was something wrong?”

Louis stopped dead in his tracks. 

“Harry, are you kidding me? No. You did nothing wrong. I was worried about you, though. I noticed something about what Niall said to you made you sad? Upset? I’m not sure what exactly, but I know it didn’t sit a hundred percent okay with you but you let it go so I tried to, too”

“You...you noticed?”

“I did. And whatever it was, I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize, Louis. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“Can you tell me? Only if you want to, that is,” Louis added onto the end quickly. 

“It’s not that big of a deal. Honestly. It’s just that my whole life, I got teased for being different. I was always picked on for being sensitive and soft. I’ve been called Fag more times than I care to admit.”

“I can definitely relate to that,” Louis sighed. He hated that Harry had to know that kind of hurt, too.

“Yeah, well. I went to a small high school where it was impossible to not know every single kid in my class. Secrets weren’t something we were afforded, all knowing each other since kindergarten. When I realized I wasn’t straight, I...I didn’t have a tribe of any sort. I was very alone in my experience and everything I had ever been told was being gay was wrong. It was wrong.  _ I  _ was wrong for being gay. So I over compensated.”

Louis reached out to tuck a stray curl back into Harry’s headscarf. Words didn’t seem sufficient in the moment so he just smiled, understandingly. Harry smiled softly back at him in thanks.

“Anyway, Between my junior and senior year, I went to the gym every day. I lifted weights, I ran. I was the asshole that drank protein shakes like they were my job. When I came back to school fall of senior year, I made it my mission to hide being gay as a matter of survival. I slept with girls. A lot of girls, all while being miserable because I just...I was lying to everyone, including myself.”

“Harry-”

“No, it’s okay,” Harry cut him off. “I wasn’t...I wasn’t sad about what Niall said. I am a baby gay because I couldn’t just own my authentic self. I looked around at all of you and I just felt sad that I never..Louis, what you guys gave is incredibly special and I’m so thankful I got to experience what unconditional kinship is like, even if just for the day.”

Louis felt himself move before his brain could catch up. Before he could back out, he went up on his tiptoes and placed the gentlest of kisses on the corner of Harry’s mouth. Just as quickly, he pulled back. 

"Oh my god, Harry. I’m so sorry. That was so inappropriate. I should have asked first. I’m sor-”

“I would have said yes.”

“What?” Louis swallowed.

“Had you asked to kiss me first, I would have said yes.”

“May I again? A bit more properly this time?”

Instead of an answer, Louis felt Harry let go of his hand and replaced the absence of touch with a caress his face. Louis fluttered his eyes closed and let Harry kiss him, mouth parted only the tiniest of bits, but Harry picked up on the invitation. He worked his tongue into Louis and not even a typhoon would have made Louis stop him. 

After all, what is a typhoon compared to a forest fire? That was the only way Louis could possibly explain the heat that flared through every fiber of his being.

When Harry finally pulled back, Louis couldn’t be sure how long the kiss lasted, but he knew it wasn’t nearly long enough. If that was their first kiss, when there was still a modicum of decency because of societal norms, Louis couldn’t fathom how they would kiss behind closed doors, losing inhibitions. 

He wanted to know everything about Harry including how his lips tasted, without sweet traces of caramel cheesecake or salty mid-June sweat. He wanted to feel the weight of Harry on his tongue, feel the clench of Harry’s hand on his hair. Louis wanted to hear the way Harry moaned when Louis did everything to him but let Harry come.

Harry made Louis want everything he told himself he didn’t. 

And fuck, if that didn’t terrify him…

“You’re not wrong, Sunshine. Consent is really fucking sexy,” Harry smirked and pecked Louis again, soft as silk. 

Rather than acknowledging any of his emotions, or what the hell just happened, Louis put on a smile and grabbed for Harry’s hand for the millionth time that day. 

“Want to get your face painted?” he asked Harry.

“Only if you pick out what I get and you let me do the same for you.”

Louis would launch himself to Neptune if that was the stipulation Harry provided. 

Harry led them to a face painting booth where they were very serious about their selections, giggling and hiding their picks from each other. They sat back to back as the artists worked their magic. Louis hoped Harry would like his and appreciate the thought that went into his selection.

Louis was also was very concerned about Harry’s selection for himself. He snuck a glance at the sample sheet Harry handed to the artist. He was pretty sure he saw a crude drawing of a dick, balls and pubes and all.

When they were each done, Harry asked if he could see his first. Louis agreed and held up the mirror so on the count of three, when Harry opened his eyes, he saw what Louis picked.

“A butterfly?”

It wasn’t just a butterfly. Louis had pulled the artist aside and discussed the design, wanting to incorporate the glitter, still adorning Harry’s face. The artist drew it so that the wings went around the glitter, now making it part of the butterfly’s markings. She had asked him what color he thought and first instinct was blue. 

“Do you like it?”

“Louis...I…”

Louis’s heart sank. Fuck. He was certain that Harry hated it. He should have just gone with a star or something simple.

“It’s the exact color of your eyes. It’s beautiful.”

Louis’s breath caught. “Would you like me to explain why?” he asked. 

Harry nodded, not taking his eyes off his reflection, turning his face side to side. 

“When you were telling me about your experiences with coming to terms with being gay...you said you were lying. But you need to know something. A butterfly isn’t lying when it’s a caterpillar. It’s just not gotten to where it needs to be in order to fly yet. You just had to go through some changes to find your authentic self. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with you.”

Harry stared at him, blinking back tears. “Louis…”

Louis braced himself, unsure of what Harry was going to say to that. 

“I feel really fucking bad for picking a giant cock to cover your face.”

“Oh my god. I knew it. I fucking knew you’d have them draw a dick on my face!”

Harry’s smile crinkled his eyes so the butterfly looked like it was moving. “Do you really think I would do something like that?”

He didn’t, not really. The whole eight hours of knowing Harry, he had done nothing but prove he was trustworthy. Still, he let out a sigh of relief. 

“All right. Close your eyes,” Harry requested, carefully taking the mirror from Louis’s hands. 

Louis did as he was instructed and took another deep breath. 

“Ready? Three, two, one. You can open your eyes, Lou.”

Louis took a moment and exhaled, opening his eyes. Drawn above his eyes was half a sun with orangey-pink wispy clouds. 

“I told you, you’re Sunshine Personified. But it’s not just that. It’s a sunrise. You’re a sunrise to me. You’ve made this whole day feel like a chance to start over. Looking at you is like looking at a new beginning, filled with unending possibility and promise. You are peace and tranquility and enlightenment and I am not the same person I was before you. I don’t want to be. No matter what happens, tomorrow the sun will rise and we will start again.”

Now it was Louis’s turn to blink away tears. He’d never been talked to the way Harry spoke to him. He’s never been looked at the way Harry looked at him. 

He’d never been  _ seen _ the way Harry saw him.

“Are we both crying over face paint?” Louis asked.

“I think we both know it’s about a little more than just the face paint,” Harry said, setting down the mirror and scooping Louis up in his arms. They stood there, breathing each other in. There was nowhere else he’d rather be.

“Oi! Boys! We have to get down to the riverfront before the too many people take all the good spots for the fireworks!” 

Louis whipped around to see Jade biting her cheek to hide the smile that wanted to break over her face. Louis wasn’t surprised by Jade’s facial expression. They had kind of unofficially become each other’s keepers. Jade was truly like a sister and could read Louis like a fucking book and right now she knew that every single page of Louis read  _ Harry. Harry. Harry. _

“Yeah, yeah. We’re coming!” Louis yelled back.

It was second nature at this point, Louis’s hand finding its home in Harry’s. As they walked to meet up with the group, Harry asked Louis if he really thought he would be so ridiculous as to give him a dick face.

“I saw the paper!” Louis exclaimed in his defense.

“Ha! I knew you were trying to cheat!” Harry kissed Louis’s head. He cleared his throat and spoke lowly, “Besides, if I really wanted to cover your face with a giant cock, it wouldn’t be in the form of paint.”

Louis choked on nothing but the air he happened to be breathing, or not breathing as it turned out.

“Jesus!” Louis coughed out.

“That  _ is _ what you’ve been calling me all day,” Harry said with the smirk Louis had come to decide was Harry’s signature. “Maybe if we’re both lucky,” his voice still low and intoxicating in Louis ear now, “I’ll be hearing it a few more times tonight?”

“You’re going to fucking kill me, Harry.”

They managed to snuggle into each other once they got down to the river and found a decent patch of grass to hunker down and wait for dusk.

“Never Have I Ever?” Zayn asked the group.

“We don’t have drinks. It’s not nearly as fun,” Liam huffed. “But sure. We’ve got time to kill.”

It was a familiar game that they tended to fall into when wasting time. You’d think as the years went by, it would be harder and harder to play since they practically knew all there was to know about each other at this point, but somehow they still managed to make it work after all this time. 

They spent an hour going round and round, and the game had delved into intentionally getting another finger down from specific people. Jesy targeted Jade with some inside joke that Louis surprisingly didn’t know about. Zayn targeted Jesy and Jade with something about being a lesbian. Niall targeted Louis and Harry with “Never have I ever gotten my face painted at Pride.” Louis retaliated with “Never have I ever had my hands down Shawn’s pants!” and instead of being phased, Niall just shrugged, putting a finger down and muttered “Not my fault you don’t know what you’re missing out on!” while Shawn buried his face in his hands. 

When it got to be Harry’s turn again, he quietly and thoughtfully said, “Never have I ever been in love.” Louis watched as all of his friends groaned and put fingers down. There was a pang of heartache at Louis once again realized how much he had fought against the idea of love. It did surprise him that Harry hadn’t been either, though. Louis also felt a different pang of sadness that he, once again, apparently started to fall for someone who wasn’t on the same page as him.

“You haven’t?” Harry leaned his head down whisper in Louis’s ear, hot breath tickling a shiver down Louis’s spine.

Louis sat forward a bit to turn his face toward Harry’s. “Nah. I think I thought I knew what love was once upon a time, but I’m not so sure now.” 

The truth is, he didn’t know. Whatever he had felt with anyone before paled in comparison for what he felt for Harry in only nine hours. “I can’t believe you haven’t though,” he fell back into Harry’s chest.

Again, Harry leaned down to Louis’s ear. “I guess I didn’t think so but… today has felt a whole lot like falling in love so what do I know?”

Louis’s whole body froze and time stood still. Instead of trying to say anything, afraid of ruining  pretty much the most perfect moment of his life, Louis brought Harry’s hand up to his lips and kissed it with a tenderness he never knew he had in him.

Just as his lips parted from skin, the first firework went off and if Louis didn’t believe in signs before, he sure as hell did now. Under the cover of darkness and with everyone else looking up to the sky, he wiped a lone tear that had rolled down his cheek. In lieu of fighting his head, he let his heart just be. Feel. Do. 

He was so tired of fighting.

For the next hour, watching spark after spark light up the Chicago sky, Louis sat in Harry’s arms trying to figure out a way to make a life with Harry work. The moment that Harry started planting kisses along Louis’s collarbones, Louis decided that was a problem for Louis to figure out later. 

The sunrise on his forehead reminded him there was always the promise of tomorrow.

After the fireworks ended and everyone was trying to arrange plans for meeting up for brunch the following day, Louis took a chance and whispered to Harry, “Come back to mine?”

Harry nodded enthusiastically, sleepy smile grew across his face. It was a sight Louis didn’t think he could possibly get tired of.

They all said their goodbyes and every single one of Louis’s friends swallowed Harry up into a hug, telling him how much they enjoyed spending the day with him and how they couldn’t wait to hang out again. Louis watched with hope at the idea it could be like this, always.

Zayn gave Louis a knowing smile. “Text me when you get home?”

“Always.”

“Ready?” Harry reached out and Louis gladly resumed his place within Harry’s hand.

They made their way back down to the L train. Louis felt like they were more like a herd of cattle than people, however. Most of the attendees of Pride also headed down to the train. There was no way Louis and Harry could keep holding hands, as being side by side took up too much space, so instead Louis took the lead and Harry grasped firmly onto the back of Louis’s shirt. They tried to worm their way to the front of the platform. 

Settled for a moment, Harry kissed down hard on Louis’s neck from behind, biting and sucking, Louis already knowing he was going to leave a bruise. Rather than stopping it, he leaned his head over, allowing Harry more room. The train pulled up and a mad rush of people shoved to the doors of the train. Louis felt Harry’s hand momentarily leave his back, but as fast as it left, he felt it grab again so he plowed forward and kept worming his way into the train. Bodies were packed like sardines and when Louis heard the doors close, he turned around to comment to Harry that perhaps they should have just waited for the next train. 

Only.

Harry wasn’t there. Some middle aged woman blinked back at him. Louis’s eyes went wide as he whipped his head to see Harry standing at the platform on the other side of closed doors. He tried to move, to get to Harry to do something, anything, but before he could move, the train started forward and he fell forward into the person next to him.

His mind raced. He lost Harry. He reached for his phone only to realize he never even got Harry’s number. His heart plummeted.

In the course of eleven hours he had met and fallen in love with Harry and in eleven seconds, he lost him, forever. 

Louis tried to breathe but the air in the train was hot and sticky and suffocating. 

He lost Harry and had zero way of finding him. He decided the best plan of action was to wait on the platform where he had first gotten on, hoping Harry would think to get off there in hopes of finding him, too.

Fourteen minutes later, Louis found himself on a bench outside of the train, phone in hand, texting the group chat.

**Louis:** I lost Harry  
**Liam:** What do you mean you lost Harry?  
**Jade:** Huh?  
**Louis:** We got seperated at the train. I got shoved in and he got pushed back  
**Niall:** Call him  
**Louis:** I can’t  
**Zayn:** Y not?  
**Louis:** Because I’m so fucking stupid that I never got his number  
**Jade:** wuuuuttttt? Noooooooo  
**Louis:** I don’t even know his last fucking name  
**Louis:** I think I love him and I never fucking asked his last god damned name  
**Zayn:** What r u gunna do?  
**Jesy:** Oh, babe. That sucks  
**Louis:** I’m waiting outside my stop  
**Louis:** When we met this morning, he said he noticed me get on the train  
**Louis:** I’m just hoping he remembers which stop it was and thinks to get off  
**Shawn:** I’m sure he will, Lou  
**Liam:** I believe in Jesus, L  
**Niall:** Hahaha Have faith!  
**Louis:** Well I’m glad you guys can laugh  
**Zayn:** Just trying to cheer you up babes  
**Jesy:** Keep us posted

Louis put his phone down, realizing there was no use getting upset with his friends. They didn’t understand the depth of his feelings for Harry. Except they did, but it didn’t fucking matter because he lost Harry and he couldn’t help but feel like the universe was playing a cruel fucking joke on him.

Just when he finally gave into the idea that he didn’t want to be alone anymore, the universe made it so he was nothing but alone. So very alone.

Train after train and raised hopes shattered each time Harry didn’t get off, the worse he felt.

**Zayn:** Any luck?  
**Louis:** Nope  
**Louis:** I’m about to give up  
**Louis:** It’s been almost two hours  
**Liam:** One more train  
**Liam:** You never know  
**Jade:** fingers crossed

Louis knew waiting for one last train was futile, and yet, he waited, just in case. 

He held his breath as the train came to a stop. The doors opened and only a handful of people trickled out, none of which were Harry.

He exhaled, shattered. He pulled out his phone to text the group and break the news that his search was over when his phone died.

Fuck the universe.

Louis left the train station, completely dejected. He forced his feet to carry him the few blocks to home. He didn’t even make it to his bed, deciding the couch was fine enough for the heartbreak coursing through him. It had been years since Louis actually let himself feel anything more than the press of heat from an anonymous stranger. Don’t ask, don’t tell but most importantly, don’t get invested, don’t get hurt. 

It’s all Bride of Frankenstein’s fault, this kind of heartache. If he hadn’t been such a fucking perv, Harry wouldn’t have ever needed to be his Gay Jesus and Louis would have continued on his life, oblivious of the way a heart could feel when something a whole lot like love came along with too long arms and too short shorts.

He would never have known what it was like to fit his hand into another’s that felt made just to hold his. He would never have felt fire from the inside over a simple fucking kiss. He would have never seen his friends actually respond well to someone Louis brought around. He wouldn’t have ever had a fleeting thought of Jade and Jesy standing next to his sisters in matching ivory bridesmaids dresses. That one hurt most of all. He promised himself he was never going to get married but one day with Harry had Louis picking out wedding colors and wanting to honeymoon in Bali.

He must had drifted off to the thought of Harry’s thighs in those fucking yellow shorts, sandy and sunning on the beach because he was waking up to pounding on his door. He was momentarily disoriented as he sifted through the sleepy fog. It took all of one second for Louis to remember. Remember why he ended up alone on his couch and not in his bed, with Harry.

“Louis, open up, darling!” Jade called through the door. They all had keys to each other’s but he thanked them silently for respecting his space and not just barging through the door. He gave himself a once-over in the entry hall mirror and the smudged yellow paint made him swallow thickly. He brought his fingers up to his forehead, ghosting over the paint, again, cursing the fucking universe. Of all of yesterday’s promises and endless possibilities of  _ tomorrow _ , being here without Harry was the cruelest possibility of them all.

He opened up the door to find not only Jade, but his whole framily in various states of post-Pride hangover. A lump caught in his throat. Maybe Harry was right.  _ The sun will rise and we will start again. _

“Louis,” Niall shoved his way from the back, only mildly elbowing the others out of his way. “Have you checked your phone?”

Louis patted down his pockets, finding and pulling out the lifeless device. “Nope,” he sighed. “Dead.”

“Go plug it in,” Liam piped up.

“Just tell me,” Louis was too cranky to play this game. Obviously there was something they were all foaming at the mouth to tell him. Their poker faces left much to be desired.

“All right. So,” Niall said. “Shawn and I were talking last night, trying to figure out how to find Harry.”

“Guys, he’s gone. Just...let it be. I’ve already moved on.”

“Yes, because your face paint all over your sofa cushion clearly indicates you came home unaffected and moved on,” Jesy rolled her eyes.

“As I was saying,” Niall spoke up, cutting off a sarcastic remark Louis was about to make. “Shawn was adding some pictures to Instagram and was hashtagging every damn Pride-related thing under the sun and it got me thinking.”

Louis scoffed. Shawn practically lived on Instagram but it’s not like he would ever find Harry without anything but a first name to go off of.

“Just, listen to him, Lou,” Zayn said, softly.

“Yeah, just listen to me. So these hashtags got me thinking. Maybe you could start some hashtag search to find him. Who knows, it could go viral, right?”

“I’m not that fucking desperate, guys,” Louis groaned and turned away from the group to flop back down onto the sofa. He watched everyone trickle in and take up their usual positions. Zayn and Liam snuggled into the love seat, Jesy on the far end of the couch, Jade on the floor between her legs, Niall next to Louis, and Shawn in the threadbare recliner in the corner. 

“We know you’re not desperate, babes,” Jade looked up at him. “But we also know how much you...how easy it was with Harry yesterday.”

“Easy come, easy go,” Louis said.

“All right, Mr. Broody Pants,” Liam snapped. “You owe me twenty bucks every time you open your mouth until we’re done. Go on, Nialler.”

“Right, so, I thought you could do that but knew you wouldn’t. So then I thought maybe I should do it for you.”

“You better fucking not have, asshole,” Louis whipped his head dramatically to Niall. This was literally his worst nightmare. He knew Niall would know Louis would hate it and would have no problem doing it out of spite anyway. Always up for a good joke, often time at Louis’s expense. “Just please tell me you didn’t?”

“I didn’t, but I was ready to,” Niall punched Louis playfully in the arm.

“That’s twenty dollars to me,” Liam sing-songed.

“I’ll give you fifty to just get to the point,” Louis growled.

“Niall, fucking found him, all right? There. Simple,” Shawn yawned.

“He what?” Louis took a few deep breaths and slowly turned to look at the gangly kid with too much limb to chair ratio.

“Shawn, we were supposed to ease into it,” Zayn calmly reminded him.

“If he didn’t, I was going to,” Jesy said. “What? Fifty bucks is fifty bucks and Louis is being a brat about it.”

Jade started to swat at Jesy’s leg, Liam started to scold Jesy saying that he was trying to milk more money out of Louis for himself, Zayn softly jabbed Liam and told him this was about Louis finally finding love and not about money. Niall had gotten up to tackle Shawn and both laughed stupidly as they tickled each other. It was all noise. So much noise that Louis couldn’t even think.

“Everyone shut up. Shut up. Shut up!” He yelled. “I’m going to need one person to tell me what is going on, exactly. Now, you’re all pissing me off so I’m going to pick Zayn since he’s the only one who’s not making so much fucking noise.”

“But-” Niall started but Louis cut him off.

“I said, Zayn. Now, please?”

“It’s okay Louis,” Zayn cleared his throat. “Niall called us all up last night and had a us scour the Pride tags on various platforms. We each took an app, Shawny had Insta, the girls had Tumblr, Liam took Facebook, and both me and Nialler had Twitter. Somewhere, somehow in the tag  _ ChiPride _ , Niall found a tweet that was another tag,  _ HelpFindSunshine _ .”

Louis’s blood courses through his ears, making it so that all he hears was  _ woosh, woosh, woosh.  _ There was no way. Was there?

“Get this, it’s fucking trending. Almost seventeen thousand tweets with that hashtag. Help Find Sunshine. What are the odds of another lost boy named Sunshine?”

Seventeen thousand people were talking about finding sunshine, but that could be anything. There was no sense in getting his hopes up. Except they were up. Way, way up.

“All right. So what does any of this mean?” Louis was trying and failing at schooling is breath.

“Nialler tracked the tag back to its origins,” Zayn explained while Niall handed his phone over to Louis.

“Look!”

Louis tried to process the words on the screen. 

**@StylinHarry:** So I kinda fell for a boy yesterday at # _ ChiPride _ . Kissed & fireworks went off. Literally. He’s a drama teacher. Goes by “Louis” but I prefer Sunshine. Very pretty. The prettiest. Got separated & I’m a fucking idiot who forgot to get his number. Anyone know him? # _ helpfindsunshine _

Holy shit. It was him. He was Sunshine and Harry was looking for him, too. His mind raced. Everything from the previous day came back to him from the very first moment he felt strange yet secure arms around him to the idea of getting a an orchid boutonnière pinned on his lapel before walking down a rose petal aisle. 

“Did you guys…” he trailed off. Louis wasn’t sure if he was more afraid that they did message him or that they didn’t. If he does this, this while contacting Harry thing, then he needs to come to terms with a lot. 

For starters, he needs to accept that falling in love might absolute wreck him. He needs to accept that it might not. He needs to face the reality that dating long(ish) distance is going to be tough but he can’t just give up when he wants to. Louis needs to be okay with letting down his walls and defenses, the ones he has spent his whole life putting up. Sure, he let his tribe in, but not really. Not even Zayn got to know about the nights he spent sobbing alone when everyone went home and the silence settled back in. 

“No, babes, we didn’t. Not ours to do, really,” Jade looked up with kind, understanding eyes. 

“What are you waiting for?” Liam questioned. 

“I don't know. I feel like...it’s been too easy. This whole thing. People aren’t supposed to find their soulmate on the fucking L. They aren’t supposed to just...be so perfect. Losing him hurt, so fucking much and that was only one day. What if-“

“And what if it works out?” Shawn piped up. “Don’t get me wrong Louis. I know I haven’t been around for forever so maybe it’s not my place to say it. But. Aren’t you tired of this whole not caring act?”

“It’s not an act,” Louis huffed, defensively. 

“It is though,” Shawn insisted. “If you really didn’t care, we all wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t have scooped us up into this little Framily. You did this,” He motioned widely to include everyone. “You cared about us enough to not let us be alone. From what I know, you didn’t want Niall to go to some mixer, alone. You didn’t want Jade to be crying in costume, alone. You didn’t want Jesy to feel left out, and alone. And me? Even before Nialler brought be around to dinner, you were the first person to always come say hi lwhen you saw me at a party because I was always standing there alone. You did this, Louis. I’d like to think we’d all still be friends. But you made us a family. You’re our tribe mama.”

Louis just blinked, on the verge of tears. He never really thought about these people, like that. They never really talked about how Louis became a bit of an unofficial leader. He had always assumed it was because he was a teacher and had a penchant for things like making reservations and organizing group chat half plans into full on itineraries. He figured they usually all congregated at his place because he had the biggest living room, and the most provisions, but maybe it was because he really was their den mom. 

“And as your tribe children,” Shawn continued. “we’re here, telling you that you don’t deserve to be alone, too. Listen to us. Just this once.”

“And if it all goes wrong?” Louis whispers before swallowing thickly. 

“Then we’ll still be here. We’ll be here tomorrow and the next day and as long as it takes for you to be okay with starting over.”

Harry’s words rang through his brain on an unending loop.  _ The sun will rise and we will start again. _

Louis looked around at the six faces he had, in fact, collected. Six people who would not be sitting all together had it not been for him. A momentary thought came of  _ what if Harry throws off the balance? _ before leaving just as quickly. He realized that most of the previous day felt like Harry had been with them since the beginning. 

_ It could be like that always. _

“So what do I do?” Louis asked as adrenaline kicked in. Harry was here. In Chicago somewhere, hopefully, maybe still close to the L, and thus, close to Louis. The irrational side of him wanted to take this phone outside and start tweeting jiberish while jogging the streets, because maybe, just maybe Harry has his twitter notifications on and his ringer volume up. A modern day Marco/Polo between Louis and his destiny.

“You need to breathe, first of all,” Jade got up from the floor and filled in Niall’s still empty spot next to Louis on the couch. “Then, you need to plug your phone in. Wash your face, have a cup of tea, and decide if this is what you want, Lou.”

“I don’t need to do any of that to decide. I…” he took a deep breath. “I know it’s so fast. I can’t possibly know for certain, but I think I do. I think I know. I love him. Is that possible? This is perhaps the dumbest shit I will ever say and if any of you ever hold it against me, I will absolutely deny it. But,” Louis blinked back tears. “He’s in there. In me. He settled into my bones and my body is literally vibrating with want to slide my hand in his and feel settled.”

“It’s not dumb,” Zayn leaned forward. “It’s...that’s love, babe. It’s the realest fucking thing in the whole world and when you know, you just...you fucking know.”

He felt a calm settle over the group, each of his friends settling into each other. Louis took a few moments to feel calm before the storm. Wordlessly, he stood up to go plug in his phone and wash his face. It was  _ tomorrow _ and the possibilities were, in fact, endless. The promise of a new day, a new chance, a new...love.

He saw the screen light up while he brushed his teeth. About a thousand notifications popped up  and there was a swell of gratitude for his tribe. Based on the number of texts he kept seeing pop up, he assumed they tried to get ahold of him non-stop since last night. He spit out his toothpaste and went to go check on the phone, deciding to read through everything after drafting a very careful response to Harry.

But.

The messages weren’t just from the people still talking in hushed tones in the living room. There were texts from damn near everyone he’d ever met. 

**Mama Bear:** Louis, any chance you’re the lost drama teaching sunshine that keeps popping up on my feeds?

**Lottie:** UH. DID YOU KISS A BOY AND DITCH HIM AGAIN?

**Uncle Pete:** ...maybe this is you? 

His twitter notifications were in the high two hundreds. Even a former student had re-tweeted Harry and said “ _ @tommoknowsbest _ is this you? If it is, you betta come collect ya mans!”

“Holy fucking shit guys,” Louis said loudly, causing the group to come join him in his bedroom. They crawled onto Louis’s mattress together like they’ve done a thousand time, limbs intertwined like they were a twenty-eight legged creature. “It’s been not even twelve hours and I’m pretty sure every person I’ve ever known or who has known me has tagged me in this or sent it to me.”

“See? We all just want you to find happiness,” Liam said.

“What are you going to say?” Niall asked.

“No idea. He probably won’t see it anyway. There’s literally like twenty thousand re-tweets. How the fuck is he going to sift through them all and see my response?”

“You’ve still got to try. He’ll find you. He found you once, twice, and he will a third time. I just..I feel it, babes,” Jade smiled softly.

Louis would be lying if he said he didn’t feel it, too. After nodding in agreement, everyone gave suggestions as to what the tweet should be. While his friends argued back and forth, he typed out the first thing that came to his mind.

**@tommoknowsbest:** _@StylinHarry_ Weird! I kinda fell for a boy @ # _ChiPride_ yesterday, too. Claims he’s “Harry” but I think it’s a cover up for being the second coming of Christ. Not sure he’s aware that he, in fact, is the absolute prettiest. I’m an asshole for losing him without so much as a last name or number. # _GayJesus_ # _MyLordAndGavior_ # _TakeMeToChurch_

He held his breath and hit the retweet button before he could think twice and chicken out.

Shawn’s phone pinged and Louis had to laugh. Of course Shawn had Louis’s twitter notifications on. Louis watched as he dug out his phone and read the tweet Louis had sent. They met eyes across the bed, Shawn’s wide and excited. Louis smiled and nodded, giving him permission to share with the still arguing group.

Before Shawn could open his mouth, another ping rang from the phone at the same time his own phone vibrated in his hand. He tensed up. There was no way it was Harry already. That would be a miracle. He looked down and saw a twitter mention. From Harry. It really was a miracle. Then again, he  _ was _ dealing with Gay Jesus. He unlocked his phone and with trembling hands, clicked on the Twitter icon.

**@StylinHarry:** _@tommoknowsbest_ Hiya, Sunshine. Not sure about church, but if you’re up for it I’d like to # _takeyoutodinner_ # _andthendessert_ # _youaremysunshine_ # _ifoundsunshine_

He read it. And then read it again. And then one more time for safe measure. And then a few more times because Harry had actually found him. Again. 

At some point, the group went silent and when he looked up, all eyes were on him. Jesy was holding Shawn’s phone so Louis assumed it had been passed around from person to person until they all saw the Twitter exchange.

Before he could ask them their thoughts and opinions on how Harry saw his reply so quickly, Zayn reached out and squeezed Louis’s knee.

“Don’t question it, Lou,” he said, reassuringly.

Louis fish-mouthed for a moment before opening up his phone again. 

**@tommoknowsbest** @ _ StylinHarry _ Dinner sounds great. # _ IOnceWasLost #ButNowAmFound _

**_*****_ **

Five nights later, Louis was standing outside of Harry’s apartment. The drive up to Milwaukee had been quick and painless. Louis found himself, on more than one occasion during the drive, thinking about how easy it would be to get used to it, as long as Harry was on the other side. Though, if he was completely honest, driving to the other side of the country would be worth it, as long as Harry was waiting for him.

Nerves bundled up as he reached out to knock on Harry’s door. Once they had connected via Direct Messages on Twitter, Louis spent pretty much every possible moment taking to Harry. They almost instantly graduated from DM’s to texts, and almost as quickly from texts to calls. It was two days later that calls became FaceTime while Harry was brushing his teeth and Louis was making tea. 

Mouth full of toothpaste, hair up in a banana clip, and dressed in a baggy hole-filled t-shirt, Louis still had to stifle a gasp at Harry’s beauty. They took each other room to room, going about their morning tasks until Harry had to leave for work with a promise of  _ later  _ from each of them. And it was later, when sleep was threatening to take them both that Louis apologized for losing Harry, for not trying harder to get to him still on the train platform. Harry gently shushed him, reminding him that none of it mattered anymore because they still had each other now. They discussed plans for the weekend, Harry telling Louis to dress up for their date and Louis making some quip about dressing in his Sunday Best for Jesus. 

On the other side of the door, Louis heard a cat meow as if to alert Harry there was a visitor, as if the knock wasn’t enough. He saw the knob turn and breathlessly waited. 

“Hiya, Sunshine,” Harry said, opening the door. 

Louis felt like passing out. If he thought Harry was beautiful with tiny shorts and pastel tie-dye and a rainbow headscarf, he was fucking ethereal now. 

Standing there in a head to toe black on black ensemble was Harry, his own personal Jesus looking entirely too much like sin. His hair was down in soft curls, barely touching the shoulders of a black button up, mostly unbuttoned, but held closed by a black blazer, silk scarf draped around his neck. The outfit was matched with black skinny jeans and a pair of stunning glittery gold boots.

“Jesus…” Louis whispered. 

“You know you can just call me Harry,” he smiled before wrapping Louis up into a hug that said a thousand words. 

After what felt like an eternity, Louis took a step back and took Harry in once more. 

“You...you’re beautiful,” Louis said, now slightly self-conscious of his more casual-but-still-nice outfit.

“You polish up pretty nice yourself. Not that I would expect anything less from the sun. Shall we?” Harry held out his hand and Louis. 

Louis wanted to tell Harry how much he missed him. He wanted to explain, again, just how sorry he was he didn’t hold on tighter after Pride. He wanted to get down on his knees and suck Harry off as a prelude to forever. 

He wanted everything with Harry. 

Instead, without second thought, without worry, without any trepidation, slotted his fingers between Harry’s. 

The vibrations of his bones settled. 

Together, they headed out on the promise of possibility. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. This fic was an honest joy to write and I hope that comes across to you all!
> 
> If you liked this fic, please consider leaving Kudos and Comments. Find the fic post on tumblr [here](https://always-aqua.tumblr.com/post/185409932537/prelude-to-forever-alwaysaqua) and give it a reblog!


End file.
